Morning Thoughts--Rainy Days--Being lied to and stood up!

View of the mountains from my deck.

Olive is staying in the house where it is warm and dry.

Chico just stands at the door and looks out.

We have had several days of rain. I didn't leave my place all day yesterday because of the rain. I was also waiting for the internet repair people to show up and fix mine. They came once and only fixed my landlord's connection. Unfortunately, I wasn't here at the time. I did not know they were coming. So they refused to walk up the stairs and look at mine.

This internet problem has been going on every since I moved up here. I paid almost a hundred dollars to a private computer repair man to fix it. That was a month ago.  He came twice. He knew what the problem was. He told me the connector had to be replaced but he only jiggled the wires. He didn't want to bother actually fixing it. So he was here five minutes, charged me too much money (Two days of pay for the average Mexican laborer) and left. It worked for a few days then it went out again. It works on and off. Mostly off. This has slowed down my blogging.

 I called him up and complained. He said he would be here at four on Monday. I waited all evening. No repair man. No phone call. Then the landlord got the other people to promise to come. The ones from the phone company. We were given a three day window. So I have been sitting here for three days. This is going into the fourth day. Did they show up or call? Of course not!

The private computer repair man promised to come back after I complained to him about not showing up. So he said he would be here on Thursday at six. Was he here? NO! Did he call? NO!

For me, this is the most frustrating part of living in Mexico. Unreliable people. I hear these kinds of stories from my friends all the time. The man who fixes things around this complex is the same way. He will promise to be here on a certain day and time and he just doesn't show up.

 Once I called him and asked if he was coming when he hadn't shown up.  He promised that he would be here in two hours. Two hours later he wasn't here. I called him again. He said, I am on my way over now. He didn't show up. I called him again, hours later, and he had shut off his phone.  He never showed up. I wasted my entire day, sitting around here waiting for him. So frustrating!

North Americans have a totally different approach to time and commitments. Yes, there are many Mexicans here who don't do business like I just described. But there are also many more who do it and it is very difficult to handle if you are used to people being reliable and doing what they say they are going to do!

 I would rather a person tell me the truth than lie to me and make me wait around for nothing. Lying to me is worse than standing me up.  I have been told that many Mexicans don't like to disappoint you so they will lie instead. Yes, I will be right there. But not show up. Or give wrong directions rather than disappoint you with no information.....   What they don't seem to realize is that we get angrier when we are lied to!  But it is a cultural difference...

We have to learn to deal with it or go back to the States. (I try not to put negative stuff on my blog because it always comes back to bite me. But today I am so frustrated with being stood up and lied to and my computer not working that I needed to write this. Mexico is different from the States and this is one of the differences. Things aren't always rosy here.

 Also, there were FIVE home break ins last Sunday in my neighborhood. That locked gate hasn't done any good as far as I can see. It just makes life harder for people living near it who don't have cars. I am feeling irritable with all this rain and not being able to leave here because of it and having to wait for people who don't show up. I am isolated. I am frustrated. I am angry.  Forgive me for my ranting.... I have no one to talk to here and I am frustrated beyond my limit this morning.